Cannabis Education, Customized: A Q&A with City Session’s Founder, Goldie Solodar
Since legalization, Colorado has become a melting pot for all things cannabis, and at times it can be a little be overwhelming. But what if we told you there’s a customizable experience that you can curate to your liking to receive top quality cannabis knowledge? Having launched in May of 2014, City Sessions has successfully built an inclusive cannabis community centered around education showcasing key players in the Colorado cannabis space.
How was City Sessions born?
I previously worked as a small business consultant for a franchise organization and felt like my creativity was being stifled. I became a member of a dispensary in 2012 and I was learning about products rolling out in real time. When recreational passed in 2013 I saw this as an opportunity to get into the industry. I was having a conversation with my favorite people in the industry, the budtenders and told them I “needed to get out of my job and into this industry.” The budtender’s reply was “marijuana tourism”. That idea hit me in a solid place, and I took myself to MJ Biz Con in Seattle and got an education on the current state of the market and came back and wrote a business plan to do party bus style tours.
May rolled around and I launched my first ever guidebook including 50 local businesses that fell under: Eat, Play, Blaze, and Shop. The Clinic has been a part of the guidebook from the beginning. I had a ‘Launch Party’ then freaked out because I didn’t know how to load a bus.
How do I get people on this bus?
I went back East and cleared my head and a few days before returning I got a phone call from a gentleman with a competing tourism company. We met for coffee and he asked what my intentions were, and I told him that I was going to start running private tours out of my Honda CRV and a few days later he referred me business and I got started.
What’s your mission/goal for the company?
We’re a community-based platform that brings forward the importance of cannabis education so people can have a positive experience with the plant. We curate the educational tour so you’re able to learn as well as sample and experience cannabis for your own personal body chemistry.
What keeps you coming to work every day?
The possibility of the plant. I believe this is a quality of life plant. I believe this is going to change the way we practice medicine down the road. And I know that it’s going to impact a lot of people’s lives for the better.
What are the challenges you faced starting?
This was my first business ever, I had no clue what I was doing. Additional challenges were being able to put the business out there. It was a brand-new industry in 2014, I didn’t know if people knew that cannabis tours were a thing. It took a lot of time to lay a foundation to drive business. But I persevered and for my second tour, I plucked two guys out of a dispensary waiting room and told them they should come on a tour with me the next day. This is how I started my business. I had to grow organically and through word of mouth and repeat business. The cannabis industry doesn’t give us the luxuries for pay per click ads, Google Ads or Sponsored Posts.
Did any of that have to do with being a woman in this industry?
I’m very fortunate about the way I see the world. I believe in myself and I don’t let obstacles get in my way. I did have a challenge with a fellow business in the community not supporting me in this effort to grow together. A part of that had to do with the way he felt about me as a woman and the way I did business as a woman. But that made me stronger, I didn’t take it.
What’s it like owning a business as a woman in this industry?
It’s amazing. To be able to get in on the ground level of a new industry and to be able to be apart of the conversation, and even tailor a part of that conversation is really special. I believe men and women are fundamentally different in many ways. You can see the different aspects of this industry that are male-driven, but also those that are female driven.
I feel that being able to be a female entrepreneur and being able to establish a culture that speaks to women is really exciting. I find it so interesting how women view constructive criticism and how women are willing to take advice from other women.
What advice do you have for women in this industry?
Be true to your mission. I have operated with the idea that quality comes first and the money will come later if we are true to our mission. For me, I lead a mission of purpose in education through enhancing peoples lives. I think that changes the world. There are so many shiny objects to chase, you can’t do it all. Be true to you.
What separates you from other tour companies?
My competition in the market really focuses on standard tours for the masses where it’s the same tour every time. What’s unique about CS is that we customize experiences based on the individual or groups interest: First Time Consumers, Regular Consumers, Industry Investors, and Medical Patients. We can custom tailor content around these groups to really provide them with the experience they’re seeking as it pertains to cannabis and the greater Colorado environment.
Most Popular Tour:
Tour of the Senses. It brings forward cannabis and how it interacts with your senses and really enhances them. You get an education on the plant and product line, get to walk through a cultivation facility, get to purchase and then experience the product. You also get to experience food and then we usually get out and explore nature. So it really encompasses all senses.
We also customize playlists for all of our guests. The experience starts with a phone call because that’s the only way you can book a tour. We have an intake form and, in that conversation, I ask them to tell me about their group and what they’re listening to. So when you’re picked up your music is already playing.
Explain The Human Side of Cannabis
Over the past 3 and a half years I’ve been curating a blog series called The Human Side of Cannabis that brings forward a full education on the plant, product lines, terpenes, the endocannabinoid system and beyond. So people can find digestible content that they can start educating themselves on this remarkable plant. Nowadays it’s less about ‘how high is this going to make me’ and more about ‘how can I incorporate this plant into my daily life.’
Explain Vaporization Rentals
I felt like there was a need in the market. People want to come to Colorado to experience this industry in full. Which means these product lines need some kind of device to consume with. This is an opportunity to experience a different type of technology they might not be used to. I also vet all the devices we rent out and stand behind all of them.
How do you choose your partners?
I choose them based on who is the best in their category. How do I know? Because I know cannabis and I know the industry. I choose products and dispensaries that hold their own niche and that are of the highest quality. You have to be handpicked to be a part of the community.
Mary’s Medicinals- A lifestyle medicinal brand that has had consistent products since the beginning of time. Hats off to female business owners.
PAX- Innovation in the market place that changed vaping.
1906- One of the most sophisticated, experience-based edibles on the market.
Stillwater- Changed the game in edibles with the easiest application.
Keef Brands- newest to the community. They’re holding the niche in the beverage category.
Dank Keeping Kind, The Herbal Cure, and The Clinic. I haven’t been able to bring on a new dispensary in the past three years because at the end of the day, these three are the best of the best in the industry. The experience you get at each of these locations is different but all of the highest quality.
Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?
No, because I’ve been true to my mission. It’s been slow and organic and I’m a self-starter. Where I’m sitting today I might be a tadpole, but I know the platform I built today is going to create a bigger impact that is going to help to continue to push this industry forward.
What’re you consuming these days?
Dabbing 710’s Watermelon Skittles all day long.
Eating 1906’s Chill, Happy Chews, and Ripple.
Smoking UK Cheese, Mimosa, Super Lemon Haze & Flo
Vaping Bubba Kush in The Lab pods for the PAX Era.
What can we expect for 420?
We’re bringing back our famous boutique bus tours. Just one tour this year on 420. We’re having previous guests come back in town to celebrate the Holiday with us.
What’re you listening to right now?
35 Soul Classics on Spotify!
Curious? Visit their website and book a tour today, tell them The Clinic sent you.
